1. Shape & Space
Summer Course July 2011

2. Introduction
Too often one of the fundamental areas of Mathematics – shape – is neglected because so much emphasis is placed on numeracy. So much so that many areas of shape are taught inadequately and children are often left with misconceptions about many aspects of the topic.
Summer Course July 2011

3. Introduction
All too often shape and space activities are restricted to children naming shapes. Work in shape and space can provide rich opportunities for problem solving activities in the same way that work in number can.
There are four types of challenges that children might be presented with that involve:
Describing
Representing
Constructing
Classifying
Summer Course July 2011

4. Visual (Pupil identifies a triangle, has learned its name off by heart, but is not aware of properties.
Descriptive (can point out that the triangle has three sides and three corners).
Informal deduction (can see that one property precedes or follows another e.g. can explain why all squares are rectangles).
Summer Course July 2011

5. Activities Describing
Feely bags – put shapes in a bag and ask children to describe the shape. Each time a shape is identified take it out and ask the children to describe anything else they notice about it.
Summer Course July 2011

6. Activities Representing Moving from 3D to 2 D
Plans – take 10 unifix cubes. Make a shape using the cubes. Use paper and pencil to represent your shape in some way, so that another person can make it.
Summer Course July 2011

7. Activities Constructing
A shape in a bag is passed around a group. Each person feels it, and describes it to the group. Once they have all described it they each try and build it before it is removed from the bag.
One child builds an object behind a screen, telling her partner what she is doing. Her partner has to follow the instructions as they go and build an identical shape.
Half – Show half a shape. Complete the shape
Geostrips - make shapes and deductions!
Summer Course July 2011

8. Activities
Loop Game & Shapes Bingo
Summer Course July 2011

9. Tangrams & Pentominoes
Summer Course July 2011

10. Tangrams
Summer Course July 2011

11. Summer Course July 2011

12. Summer Course July 2011

13. Summer Course July 2011

14. Summer Course July 2011

15. Summer Course July 2011

16. Summer Course July 2011

17. Pentominoes
Summer Course July 2011

18. Summer Course July 2011

19. Microsoft Windows Logo
An excellent FREE piece of software.
Download from
Summer Course July 2011

20. Logo Commands
Summer Course July 2011

21. Summer Course July 2011

22. Summer Course July 2011

23. Summer Course July 2011

24. Lines & Angles What’s my Angle – online resource for teaching angles
Angle Activities
Summer Course July 2011

25. Summer Course July 2011